Sunday, September 27, 2009
Hide Hard Disk Drive in Windows Vista
It is possible to hide a hard drive letter using Windows Vista, preventing it from showing up in applications and Windows Explorer. However, this will not prevent you from access files from it manually (by browsing directly to it by typing "D:" for example). This can be useful to hide files quickly and easily.
To being, load the Registry Editor from the run box (Press WINDOWS KEY + R to access this) by typing "regedit" and clicking OK:
Once this loads, browse to the following registry key on the left hand side:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Policies\Explorer
Then, right click on the white space in the right hand side and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value, and call it "NoDrives":
Double click on "NoDrives" to enter a Decimal value. This value depends on the drives you wish to hide, and is created by adding the numbers for each drive you wish to hide from the list below. Click OK once you have entered this number.
For example, to hide drive D you would enter a decimal value of 8. To hide both drives D and E, you would enter a decimal value of 24 (8+16):
A = 1
B = 2
C = 4
D = 8
E = 16
F = 32
G = 64
H = 128
I = 256
J = 512
K = 1024
L = 2048
M = 4096
N = 8192
O = 16384
P = 32768
Q = 65536
R = 131072
S = 262144
T = 524288
U = 1048576
V = 2097152
W = 4194304
X = 8388608
Y =16777216
Z = 33554432
All drives = 67108863
Once you restart your computer, the selected drives should be hidden. If you wish to remove the hidden drives, browse to the NoDrives registry value and delete it.
As with all registry modifications, care should be taken to ensure that these steps are followed exactly. You should make a backup of your system before any major changes should things go wrong.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Deleting Temporary Files in Windows Vista
Windows Vista includes a very useful "Disk Cleanup Tool" which does exactly as the name suggests, and allows you to remove a wide variety of temporary and cached files that you no longer need. Most applications will automatically remove the temporary files once you have closed the software down, but in some cases (such as crashes or bad programming), trails can be left behind. Removing these files will create extra diskspace and keep your system in good condition.
To begin, load the Run box by pressing WINDOWS KEY + R, then type "cleanmgr" and click OK:
Now, select the drive you wish to clean up. Normally the "C:" is your primary drive where temporary files will be located. Click OK once you have done this:
It may take a few moments while the cleanup software scans your drive for files that are safe to remove:
You can then select all of the temporary file types you wish to remove. It is not normally worth removing Image Thumbnail files as these will just be recreated next time you view a photo directory. Once you have selected the file types you want to remove, click OK:
You will be prompted to confirm you are sure about the deletion. If you are sure, click Delete Files:
The Disk Cleanup Tool will then remove the selected files and close, successfully reclaiming some diskspace:
Select Multiple Files with Checkboxes in Windows Vista
There are many occasions when you will want to select multiple files in Windows Explorer view when the normal "drag and highlight" can't cope with the spread of files.
The usual method of selecting these multiple files is to hold down CTRL and then single click on each file you wish to select.
However, Windows Vista has introduced a much easier and more convenient method of selecting multiple files.
To enable this, load Windows Explorer by pressing WINDOWS KEY + E or going to Start Menu > Computer. Now, click on the Organise button, then Folder and Search Options:
Then click the View tab and tick Use Check Boxes to Select Items, followed by OK:
When you return to the Explorer window, you will be able to select each item by single clicking on it:
Automatic Backups in Windows Vista
Windows Vista includes an option to back up documents, photos and several other file types automatically, on a schedule you select. However, you can't select to backup your entire PC on a regular basis by default.
If you have a NAS drive or 2nd hard drive, it would be ideal to be able to automatically backup your computer should the worse happen. Thankfully, you can use the command line interface and the "Task Scheduler" to create an automated backup solution without any other software. This will only work with Ultimate, Business or Enterprise editions of Vista in Administrator mode.
To begin, load the Task Scheduler by starting taskschd.msc from the run box (press WINDOWS KEY + R to load this):
Once the Task Scheduler has loaded, click Create Basic Task:
Now, enter a name and an optional description for your automated backup script:
You can now choose the intervals at which you want your backup to run (weekly or monthly would be sensible, depending on how often you need backups). Click Next when you are done:
Select a time of day for the script to start based on your interval selection, then click Next:
Now, select Start a Program and click Next:
For the "Program/Script" box, enter the following command:
wbadmin
Then, the following arguments to the next box:
start backup -allcritical -backuptarget:d: -include:c: -quiet
This example argument assumes you are backing up the entire C: and storing the backup on the D:. You can chance the storage paths by editing the values above. Once you are done, click Next:
This final screen lets you confirm the backup script details. If everything appears correct, click OK:
When the script starts, a command box similar to the one below will load. This will show you the progress of the backup and close automatically once complete. All of the backups will be stored in a "WindowsImageBackup" folder on the backup drive you selected, should you need to restore the computer using the Vista installation disk:
Windows Vista Disk Manager
Windows XP came with a reasonable partition manager, however it didn't let you resize partitions like the new Vista version can do. The new options of shrink and extend allow you to resize active partitions, something that required 3rd party software until now.
To load this application, run compmgmt.msc from the command line and select Disk Management from the left hand menu.
Not only can you format, delete and resize partitions but you can also change drive letters with a few clicks. If you install a new DVD drive at a later date but want to rename the drive letter, simply right click on the drive and select "Change Drive Letter and Paths" and then click change. From this menu you can pick another available drive letter.
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